Review: realme GT Master Edition
Update 05. May 2022
The realme GT Master Edition is still an unbeatable purchase recommendation in 2022. In the meantime, even Android 12 has been rolled out for the well-equipped mid-range smartphone.
The smartphone is currently available on Amazon in the 245+6GB memory version and the special color “Voyager Gray” for an unbeatable 128 euros. Sales and shipping are carried out by Amazon.
Flash offer - realme GT Master Edition (6 + 128GB)
Long gone are the days when smartphone manufacturers released one or two models a year. In the meantime there has been a move to extensive model series, the models of which usually only differ by their name suffixes, such as "Pro", "Max", "Plus" or "Lite".
Realme is much more abstract with the realme GT Master Edition, which is based solely on the name, a better realme GT (Here is the test) can be expected. In fact, the Master Edition is much more of a cheaper "Lite" version.
realme GT Master Edition: design, workmanship and scope of delivery
With the realme GT Master Edition, realme is once again making a real design statement. The design was created in collaboration with the Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa. At least when we speak of the color “Voyager Gray”, because the smartphone is also available in the simpler versions “Luna White” and “Cosmos Black”. The special thing about “Voyager Gray” is the back of the smartphone, which is made of gray-colored synthetic leather and is supposed to look like a hard case.
My test device in “Luna White”, on the other hand, is kept in plain white. The housing is made entirely of plastic, but this cannot be seen directly from the chrome-look frame. In combination with the matted back, which is rounded towards the sides, the smartphone is elegant and is also comfortable to hold. The size (159,2 x 73,5 x 8,0 mm) and weight (174g) are moderate. There is no water protection (IP rating).
Another design feature is the rectangular camera hump with three vertically arranged lenses, which stand out from the white of the back with their black surround. As far as the control buttons are concerned, we have a volume rocker on the left of the frame and the power button on the right. Both buttons are easily accessible with one hand and show a comfortable pressure point. The SIM slot, which can be equipped with two nano SIM cards, is also on the left. Space for one microSD memory card Unfortunately, there is not.
Wired headphones can be easily connected via the 3.5 mm jack socket. We have a classic USB-C connection (USB65) for transferring data and charging the smartphone, which, by the way, is possible with up to 2.0 watts. Otherwise there is a mono speaker output and two microphones, one below and one above.
There is nothing wrong with the workmanship. Despite the large amount of plastic, the realme GT Master Edition is a little flattering to the touch. Neither can anything be said against the scope of delivery. A 65-watt fast charger and a USB-C cable are included, a protective cover is included and a screen protector is carefully applied to the display at the factory.
realme GT Master Edition: display
At this point we also switch to the display, which takes up a large part of the front with a screen-to-body ratio of 91,7%. The display bezels are all average in size. Realme housed the 32 MP front camera in a “punch hole”. A small hole is punched in the display and the camera is placed behind it. It is now the most common solution to accommodate the front camera in a space-saving manner. Realme does not provide any information about the screen protection glass.
An in-display fingerprint scanner is hidden under the display, which unlocks the smartphone reliably and in the shortest possible time. In the settings we can choose from eight different fingerprint animations. There is no notification LED. Instead, there is stylish edge lighting and an always-on function. Both functions can also be adjusted in their presentation.
The display type is based on a Samsung AMOLED panel with a 6,43 inch screen diagonal and a screen resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. This in turn corresponds to a razor-sharp 409 PPI pixel density.
No compromises have been made in terms of the refresh rate either. Like the realme GT, the new Master Edition supports a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate. A real feast for the eyes, which is often at the expense of the battery life. To counteract this to some extent, there is an auto mode that automatically adapts the refresh rate to the content. Touch inputs are even faster. The 360 Hz touch sampling rate guarantees high recognition accuracy.
The AMOLED display shows colors powerfully and saturated. Black actually appears as black and not as gray, because in order to display black, the self-illuminating pixel on the AMOLED display is simply switched off. This means that the contrast is almost infinite. The color accuracy of the display is good. It is matched to the DCI-P3 color space, which is common in American film production. Individual adjustment options are possible based on the screen color temperature and the screen color mode (vivid, mild and brilliant).
The display remains legible when the sun is shining. The automatic brightness adjustment reacts quickly and increases the maximum display brightness beyond the manual brightness mode when there is direct incidence of light. The maximum display brightness measured in the test was 650 cd / m². There is nothing wrong with the viewing angle stability either. The display remains almost unchanged even at unfavorable viewing angles.
Content from streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime Video can be streamed in high 1p resolution thanks to the Widevine L1080 hardware licensing. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is supported in theory, but HDR content cannot be streamed via Netflix.
realme GT Master Edition: performance and user interface
The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G mobile platform. The CPU offers eight cores, which in turn are divided into a fast prime core with 2,4 GHz clock rate, three power cores (2,2 GHz) and four energy-saving cores (1,9 GHz). The GPU is an Adreno 642L. The smartphone is available in two memory configurations, either with 128GB or 256GB data storage (UFS2.2) and with 8GB main memory (LPDDR4X).
So much for the technical details. Much more important is the everyday performance of the realme GT Master Edition. At this point, the smartphone gives a convincing overall picture. Realme UI 11, based on Android 2.0, ran smoothly and stably throughout the entire test phase. Unexpected crashes or other problems did not occur. The smartphone masters everyday tasks (web browsing, social media, streaming and telephony) with flying colors. Apps start without much delay, run smoothly and are kept in memory for a long time.
Mobile gamers may not get their money's worth with the realme GT Master Edition. Here's the big brother, that realme gt with Snapdragon 888 chip, much faster on the go. Nevertheless, even demanding games can be played fairly smoothly with the Master Edition. Only the details have to be screwed down a bit. So-called thermal throttling, i.e. the temperature-related downclocking of the performance, did not occur in the test.
Let's take another look at the user interface, which is likely to receive an update to Android 12 in the coming months. The structure of the user interface is structured and you can get to where you want to go quickly. Functionally, the realme UI 2.0 is on a modern point of view.
As a user, you have the option of extensively personalizing the user interface. In addition to the usual wallpaper customization, there are other customization options for the icon style, the app layout, the colors, the font and display size, the notification area, the edge lighting and the fingerprint animation.
Practical tools such as split screen, an intelligent sidebar, game mode or screen recording options are already integrated directly into the system. Other useful functions, which are still in a test phase, can be accessed via the realme lab.
The menu item “Data protection” gives you access to security functions such as the private safe, the system cloner or the children's area. Very few annoying third-party apps are pre-installed.
realme GT Master Edition: camera
For many, a good smartphone camera is probably the most important selling point. Pretty much every smartphone has more than two sensors, regardless of the price range. However, the number of sensors and many megapixels do not make a good smartphone camera.
The realme GT Master Edition has a total of four cameras. On the back is the triple camera system with a
- 64 MP main camera (f / 1.8 aperture) one
- 8 MP ultra wide angle camera (f / 2.3 aperture and 119 ° FOV) and one
- 2 MP macro camera (f / 2.4 aperture).
On the front we have a 32 MP Sony IMX615 front camera (f / 2.5 aperture).
Realme does not provide any details about the built-in sensors of the triple camera. The technical specifications of the main camera speak for a 64MP Omnivision OV64B image sensor.
When it comes to smartphone image sensors, OmniVision has not yet been able to hold its own. Many manufacturers use sensors from Sony or Samsung, at least for the main camera. The Omnivision OV64B is by no means a bad choice.
main camera
The realme GT Master Edition is quite capable of taking photos and videos that are well worth seeing. Photos taken with the main camera are rich in detail and pleasantly sharp in good lighting conditions. Instead of natural, the colors are partly oversaturated. If you switch on the camera AI, the color saturation is additionally intensified. The photos appear more dynamic, but the bright colors don't suit everyone's taste.
Some people will be surprised why the main camera takes photos in only 16 MP as standard, even though we have installed a 64 MP image sensor. The reason for this is so-called "pixel binning". Neighboring pixels of the same color (here 2x2) are combined into one pixel. The pixel area quadruples, the resolution is reduced to 16 MP and we achieve a higher light sensitivity and less signal noise.
As soon as the lighting conditions deteriorate, the recording quality also decreases. The shutter release time increases and the lack of image stabilization makes it more difficult to take shake-free photos. The amount of detail also decreases and subtleties become blurred. However, the image noise is kept within limits and the colors don't fade too much due to the general oversaturation.
The night mode provides a remedy, which visibly brings back details, reduces the blurring and provides more dynamism.
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- Without night mode
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- With night mode
The realme GT Master Edition succeeds in bokeh recordings or portraits. Regardless of whether it is for people or objects, the foreground usually stands out cleanly from the background. A slider can be used to set the degree of blurring before recording. No more blurring adjustments are possible after the exposure.
Ultra wide angle camera
The ultra-wide-angle camera cannot hold a candle to the main camera. Image errors in the form of chromatic aberration occur more frequently, colors are exaggerated and a slight blurring of the image becomes noticeable towards the edges.
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- main camera
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- Ultra wide angle camera
Macro camera
As so often, the macro camera offers no added value and quickly disappeared into obscurity. Here are two test shots:
video quality
The main camera records videos in up to 4K at 30 frames per second. At 1080p, 60 frames per second can also be selected. Video recordings are stabilized with the help of electronic image stabilization, which did a good job in the test. In contrast to the photo mode, the colors are much more moderate and closer to reality.
Zooming is possible with 10x magnification. Switching to the ultra-wide-angle camera while recording is in progress does not work. Other functions such as camera AI, bokeh or color filters are also available in video mode. However, there is no HDR function.
Front camera
The 32 MP front camera takes photos and videos in good quality. Selfies recorded with it are rich in detail and sharp. The dynamic range is good and is further improved by HDR. The color rendering is consistent.
In addition to a normal photo mode, the selfie camera also supports a portrait and a night mode. The front camera records videos in 720p or 1080p.
realme GT Master Edition: Connectivity
Mobile
When it comes to mobile communications, the realme GT Master Edition leaves a good impression. In addition to 4G, the new 5G cellular standard is also supported, which is constantly being expanded in this country. Here is an overview of the existing mobile radio bands.
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
- WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B6/B8/B19
- FDD LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B66
- TDD LTE: B38/B39/B40/B41(2496-2690MHz)
- 5G NSA/SA: n66/77/78/38/40/41(2496-2690MHz)/1/3/5/7/8/20/28
The dual SIM slot can be equipped with two nano SIM cards. The voice quality is excellent in both directions. VoLTE and VoWiFi can be activated via the settings.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Here too, the realme GT Master Edition is well positioned. The current standards WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are supported. The data throughput is high and the connection stability is far-reaching.
GPS and sensors
The realme GT Master Edition is not a smartphone with dual GPS, but it supports all major satellite systems. A precise position determination takes place within a few seconds. Inaccuracies in navigation did not occur in the test mode.
Other sensors include an ambient light sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor and an e-compass. NFC is available so that mobile payments with Google Pay also work.
Mono speaker
The smartphone received a small swipe at the speaker. On the one hand, it is just a mono speaker and not a stereo speaker system. On the other hand, the sound is clear, but the maximum volume should be a bit higher. Making a phone call using the hands-free function in noisy traffic is quite difficult.
realme GT Master Edition: battery
Realme has given the realme GT Master Edition a 4300 mAh battery. When fully charged, you can easily get through the day. Anyone who occasionally surfs with their smartphone, checks e-mails, listens to music and watches YouTube videos, has to charge the battery every 1 ½ days on average. One hour of Netflix consumes about 10% of the battery. This is not a top performance, but it is still manageable.
The loading speed is more pleasing. The 65 watt SuperDart charging technology fully charges the battery in just 35 minutes. With only 10 minutes on the electricity, the battery can be charged by almost half. The smartphone does not get unusually hot during fast charging. Qi wireless charging is not supported.
realme gt master edition
Chic design and good workmanship
AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate
Good performance for most tasks
Usable cameras
Stable Android 11 user interface
Good cellular quality (5G, VoLTE, VoWiFi)
NFC for contactless payment
Good navigation properties
Fast loading time
No IP protection
No stereo speaker system
No memory expansion
Superfluous macro camera
The realme GT Master Edition is a good example that you shouldn't be fooled by the name. What sounds like a lot is basically a "lite" version of the realme GT, which was released a few months ago.
However, you can safely overlook the confusion of names, because the realme GT Master Edition is overall a good mid-range smartphone without serious weaknesses and with a good price-performance ratio.
The Snapdragon 778G 5G cuts a good figure and delivers enough performance in everyday life. The AMOLED display is not one of the brightest of its kind, but it is crisp and sharp and scores with its smooth 120 Hz refresh rate.
The image quality of the triple camera is good average considering the price range. Snapshots in the form of photos and videos that you like to show around are no problem. However, you could have done without the macro camera.
When it comes to connectivity, the realme GT Master Edition does well. The telephony quality is good, the data throughput in the WLAN is high and NFC for mobile payment is fortunately available. Seamless navigation also works with the smartphone without any obstacles. Unfortunately, realme did without a stereo speaker system.
Also worth mentioning is the 65 watt SuperDart charging technology, which fully charges the smartphone in just 35 minutes. The battery life is rather average at 1 ½ days with normal use.
